Strictly speaking it is rather cheap. Then again, Stealth cloaks seem to be available only to the Ryuugekitai (Dilandau has the Madoushi 'behind him' as Folken put it). Apart from them, I've never seen any Zaibach guymelefs use Stealth Cloaks. It seems to be experimental technology and not very common.

I think it is kinda cheap, but one must remember that at first Zaibach was under cover and hadn't exposed themselves as trying to destroy everything. After everyone knew that they were the enemy, they mostly stopped using the cloaks.

I think it was an intentional "plot friction" device ... it was a way the producer/director could point out the often conflicting societal views and how they can affect their interactions with each other.

Since Escaflowne was made from the viewpoint of its Japanese creators, one can surmise that make a possible connection from the transition from "old" Japan to the "new". The traditional view held that duel were to be fought one on one, thus testing the valor and expertise of the two opponents ... Zaibach on the other hand represents the mindset, advantages and general characteristics of a more contemporary way of thinking. Compare the Zaibach Empire to the German 3rd Reich ... or perhaps even the United States - where technology, effeciency and pragmatism have superceded the "old school" mode of battle.

... the basic idea being, "Better equals winning".

This is not to say that the concept promotes winning at all costs, merely that the modern concept of war has undergone whats called :Scope Growth" - which has more to do with the complexities of the global picture (as related to battle) rather than individual glory.

It may be cheap, but that is how one effiently wins wars. (sad that the word efficient must be applied to glorified killing) Look at Iraq for example, the country with the best technology had a definite advantage. WWII, the bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki ended the war, at a high cost, was the nuclear bomb a cheap weapon? Yes but that is how society advances.